Charity bosses today warned they are taking a “fatal kicking” as the coalition Government’s spending cuts undermine the very organisations the Prime Minister hoped would revitalise society.

The next 12 months are set to see closure after closure of some of Tyneside’s most important organisations which help thousands of society’s most vulnerable.

Children’s groups, homeless centres, agencies set up to help the long term unemployed and women’s health groups have all warned they will either cut back services or even go under if the Government does not start to offer help.

Hundreds of charities taking part in a survey by Newcastle-based Voluntary Organisations' Network North East have set out the fears facing them as a result of axed council and Government grants.

In a detailed look at the pressures facing charities, the organisation warns of decreases in funding, increased staff redundancies, significantly increased use of cash savings, reduction in services, fear of closure and worries that dozens of charities will have to close down.

Over the summer the organisation, in partnership with Newcastle Council for Voluntary Service, surveyed charities - and their report makes grim reading for those most dependent upon a helping hand.

In a stark warning to Mr Cameron, some 23% of charities taking part said closure is likely over the next 12 months.

Jo Curry, chief executive at the voluntary organisation, said the lack of help for some of Tyneside’s most important institutions was a “scandal”.

She added: “In the grand scheme of things I couldn’t care less whether the Government reboots or retreats from Big Society.

“I do care that communities are losing hope, and that marginalised individuals will suffer as services are withdrawn and charities close. We must stop this from happening.”

She has called for councils to do more to work with charities to find ways to preserve services and to only cut a service once the full impact on a neighbourhood or group is known.

Those making a call for greater consideration include Newcastle’s Citizens Advice Bureau, whose chief executive Shona Alexander said there was a risk of further branch closures in Tyneside if council bosses hit them again with a 20% reduction.

Charities were today backed by Newcastle North Labour MP Catherine McKinnell, who called on the Prime Minister to offer real support.

She said: “Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ rhetoric is merely ‘big talk’.

“The formerly thriving voluntary sector in this region is taking a huge hit from the swingeing cuts this Government is inflicting on the most vulnerable.

“Now more than ever we need the valuable work the voluntary sector provides in our most disadvantaged communities.

“The Government needs to look again at the impact of its actions to ensure that we do not face the closure of much needed and well respected charities and community projects.”

Ministers have insisted they are sticking to big society plans, and say the £100m reduction in charity cash compared against a multi-billion pound budget for voluntary organisation nationwide.

But a Cabinet Office spokesman warned tough choices had to be made to tackle the budget deficit, worth more than £120m a day in interest alone.

"Big Society offers the voluntary sector many new opportunities to grow.

"Our reforms will allow the voluntary sector to bid for public service contracts worth billions of pounds.

“Recently, Big Society Capital launched with an expected £600m to give the sector access to much needed finance, which will help them expand and bid for these new contracts.

“And we're doing more to support giving and philanthropy including measures in the budget estimated to be worth £600m over the lifetime of the Parliament. This is just the start.”

What exactly has the Big Society given us so far?

Jo Curry, head of Voluntary Organisations' Network North East, sets out the troubles facing charities on Tyneside

THE mood in the country has changed over recent weeks. We have gone from hugging hoodies to locking them up for looting.

At the same time, Big Society appears to have gone the way of Back to Basics and is being quietly played down by Government. It is now 18 months since the Big Society idea was launched, and it is time to look carefully at what has been achieved.

Has there been an increase in giving in the North East? Trusts and foundations report there has not, and 73% of charities report a decrease in funding.

Has there been an increase in volunteering? Yes, though this is largely due to displaced public sector workers looking to up-skill in order to find new work.

Has there been a huge movement of local community groups taking over and running public services? No there hasn’t, the Single Work Programme is a prime example.

Charities with a long history of engaging with unemployed people and supporting them back into work, now struggle to find a role, and face extinction. Instead multi-national companies drive down costs, and pay by results, providing a disincentive to working with those that are furthest from a job and hardest to help.

But what does any of this matter to vulnerable individuals in deprived communities here?

We see the jobless rate in the North East standing at 10%. We see the highest suicide rates in England.

We see cuts in Disability Living Allowance that will mean working disabled people may be forced to give up work, and changes to Housing Benefit that will see more people sleeping on the streets.

At the same time we see Local Authorities forced to cut back. It is no surprise that nearly three quarters of charities report an increased demand for their services, as vulnerable people feel that they have nowhere else to turn.

What a scandal it is then, that nearly half of those charities will be closing a service and nearly a quarter face closing down all together as their resources dry up.

In the grand scheme of things I couldn’t care less whether the Government reboots or retreats from Big Society.

I do care that communities are losing hope, and that marginalised individuals will suffer as services are withdrawn and charities close. We must stop this from happening.

Groups plead for help to survive

THEY are the backbone of Tyneside, and now they need your help.

From boys’ clubs to homeless shelters, city farms to elderly care, charities which help people succeed, or pick up the pieces when they fall, –they are all in urgent need of long-term security.

Grainger Park Boys’ Club is one of those looking for a little help. Established in 1928, its chairman Paul Harding said surviving another 10 years without help would be difficult.

He sad: "To some of these kids, you know we matter a lot more than just a name and a place to go. We‘ve taken on people who are now captains of teams, who have learnt responsibility, when frankly some of them would have not had that chance to excel.

"We’ve done that even though we are haemorrhaging around £2,000 a year here. In 15 to 20 years’ time we will be out of business at that rate.

"Funding we could have gone for, everyone is going for, and it is getting more and more difficult to get by."